Parish News: Fifth Week of Great Lent

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Sitting looking out onto a sunny morning, with buds breaking into leaf on the trees, it is good to reflect upon the blessings of the last week, in which I was able to visit our chancellor and the Wallasey parish.

It is always a joy to visit Wallasey, with our parish of St Elizabeth worshipping in one of the cemetery chapels, and “Little St Elizabeth’s” in the cellar of Father Paul and matushka Elizabeth’s home.

Both sanctuaries are saturated with prayer, and house many spiritually precious treasures from the Russian Imperial Embassy, from our ‘old’ cathedrals in Buckingham Palace Road and Emperor’s Gate, as well as items from our former northern parishes and the former podvorie chapel in Baron’s Court.

In Wallasey, we venerate icons that were venerated by St John the Wonderworker, our former hierarchs, and the Tsar-Martyr, and place our votive tapers in the very stands that they used in the former temples of the Church in Exile. It is particularly wonderful that the icons from the iconostasis of the episcopal podvorie grace the screen in St Elizabeth’s. I very much hope that our Cardiff and Wessex parishioners will make a pilgrimage to the Wirral and become acquainted with this wonderful parish and church, which is so representative of the particular spirituality our Church Abroad and its traditions.

I was glad to able to discuss parish life with our chancellor and look at ways to try and ease the limitations and restrictions that we continue to face as a parish without its own temple. We had time to discuss pilgrimages, youth activities, clergy formation, and the challenges of parish life.

The highpoint of my visit was the celebration of the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts.

Sadly, the lack of a place to reserve the Holy Gifts in Cardiff and limited church availability makes the celebration of this ancient Liturgy impossible at present, which is a great loss, given the beauty and solemnity of the service, in which the silent Great Entrance is made as the choir sing the anti-cherubikon

“Now the Powers of heaven with us invisibly do minister. For, lo! the King of Glory entereth now. Behold, the mystical sacrifice, all accomplished, is ushered in.”

Let us with faith and love draw near, that we may become partakers of life eternal. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Some commentators have speculated that the Great Entrance, possibly encountered by Crusaders in the Holy Land and Levant, may have been the inspiration of the grail procession in medieval romances, and its especially sacred character and solemnity are because these are not simply offered gifts, but the consecrated Holy Gifts themselves, in which the Lord is present.

It was good that Father Alban, from Durham, was also able to be with us, serving after a long journey, and before the long journey home.

Having returned to Wales on Wednesday, confessions were heard – as usual – in Nazareth house on Thursday, as they will be this week. Sister Aquinas has informed me that the daily mass will now be at 16:00, rather than in the morning, so confessions will ordinarily begin at 17:00. However, I will ask to hear some earlier for those with child-care and other responsibilities… just let me know of time limitations and I will speak to the Sisters. Emails by Wednesday at 18:00, please.

Friday saw an easterly journey for the first of our twice-monthly services in Wiltshire, where our Saturday Liturgy was celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster. We were pleased to be joined by some of our Cardiff locals for our celebration, with a litia for the departed at the end of the service, and a Lenten bring-and-share lunch.

Again, we are extremely grateful to Ian, chair of the chapel feoffees, who has supplemented the kitchen, providing a microwave-oven for us to heat food for the faithful. Given journeys from Poole and Cardiff, as well as the west of England, this is greatly appreciated. We look forward to our next Liturgy on Bright Saturday, with Paschal Hymns resounding in the chapel!

Sunday Liturgy for St John Climacus, marked the end the fourth week of the fast, and coincided with the feast of St Mary of Egypt, who will be commemorated next Sunday, as well as in the matins of the Thursday this week, when her life, by St Sophronios of Jerusalem, is read.

After discussions about the children participating the most sacred moments of the Liturgy, it was lovely to see one of our sisters usher Yuriy and Kyrill to the front with candles at the reading of the Gospel, and for them to do the same at the Great Entrance, directed by our young oltarnik, Stefan.

It was lovely to see Hierodeacon Avraamy reunited with his kamilavka and double orary, sent from Ukraine, and we look forward to having him as first deacon when we celebrate the mystery of Holy Unction in the cathedral, next Saturday.

Next Saturday’s Soborovanie / Holy Unction will commence at 14:00, and there will be opportunities to confess in the cathedral before the Holy Mystery. Those travelling by bus will be informed of the arrangements, which are being finalised, and we are encouraging our faithful to bring food to share after the service. I am very happy that there will be three parish carloads, as well as those travelling by bus, and look forward to having a group of Cardiff and Wessex parishioners joining the assembled parishes of the diocese.

Some of our parishioners have asked me to explain the offering of prosphora as Liturgy.

This practice originates in the early Church, and the expected offering of bread and wine by the faithful for the accomplishment of the Liturgy. Even though this fell out of use, the East Slavic Churches retained the tradition of the faithful presenting small loves with their commemorations for the Orthodox living and departed, with a loaf being presented with a commemorative list for the living, and one of the departed.

During proskomedia, the names of those commemorated are read out in the prayers for the living and the dead, and commemorative particles are taken in their memory and placed before the “Lamb” – which is consecrated during the Liturgy.

During the proskomedia, the arrangement on the diskos, forms a symbolic representation of the Church, in which Christ the Lamb of God is flanked by the Mother of God (represented by a triangle of beard) and the ranks of different types of saints, represented by the nine triangles in a three by three square. Before this representation of the deesis, the particles from the loaves presented by the faithful represent all commemorated on their lists – those for the faithful immediately before the Lamb, and those for the departed nearest the edge of the diskos.

After the communion of the faithful, the commemorative particles are placed in the chalice, as the deacon prayers, “Wash away, by Thy precious Blood, O Lord, the sins of those here commemorated, through the prayers of all Thy saints.”

So… when you order prosphora, you are doing so in the name and as a prayerful offering for those commemorated – which implies a list of others, though you are obviously commemorated.

Some people say, “But I’m the only Orthodox person in my family?”

There are very obvious responses.

Do you not pray for your brothers and sisters within the community; for those who have helped you in Orthodoxy through their lives, labours, teaching/preaching; for our hierarchs and clergy – whether living or departed?

We should ALL – without exception – be presenting commemorative lists, or commemoration books for Liturgy. This is our Christian duty, at Liturgy, and a basic part of Orthodox living. We list people according to their full BAPTISMAL name – no Ivans, Pashas, Mishas or Sashas, but Ioanns, Darias, Pavels, Mikhails and Alexanders. We have no vladikas, fathers or mothers, but rather list clergy and monastics as Bishop, Priest, Archpriest, Hieromonk, Monk or Nun.

If we have a commemorative book, we need to keep it up-to-date, as also our lists, if we leave them in church between Liturgies.

I shall post one of Fr John Whiteford’s article on our Facebook and WhatsApp pages.

See also: https://www.facebook.com/ROCORinCardiff/posts/pfbid036TKS7mEUCVQnKeLAQX1S1kaqcptDvvP89cgZh8etGLvtaULiwyiST41TwUhKQTWl

Looking forward to Wednesday evening, or during the day on Thursday, we should endeavour to prayer the Great Canon. The Wednesday evening service will be in Llanelli at 19:00.

This Saturday is that of the Akathist Hymn of the Most Holy Mother of God, when we should all equally to pray the Akathist Hymn. Again, there will be a service in Llanelli at 19:00.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

The Visitation of the Theotokos To Elizabeth and the Hidden Human-Divine Encounter

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The feast of the Visitstion of the Most Holy Theotokos to St. Elizabeth, which falls today for Orthodox Christians, is a wonderful celebration of both spiritual and familial kinship and of the reality of unborn life and personhood.

The little icon, missed by many people, at the back of the Anglican  shrine-church in Walsingham, captures the joy of the encounter, which we know to also have been the meeting of the Saviour and the Forerunner within their mothers’ wombs, with the Forerunner leaping in recognition of his Saviour and Creator’s Presence.

Life-unborn lept for joy at the Presence of the Life of the God-Man, not yet born or incarnate in the world.

This great meeting of the Only-Begotten Son of God and the unborn Forerunner is one which we boldly need to thrust before those who insistently claim to be ‘Christians’, yet refuse to take a Christian stance on the sanctity or even the reality of life, personhood and individuality from conception.

The centre of the wondrous meeting in this feast of the Visitation is one hidden from our eyes in traditional icons: the unseen encounter of creation and creature with the Creator, within the new Holy of Holies: the sanctuary of the womb of the Mother of God.

St Romanos and the Welcoming Home of the Prodigal Son

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Dear brothers and sisters,

On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, in our preparatory Sundays before the the Great Fast, my homily touched upon the patristic interpretation of the killing of the calf for the celebratory meal for the return of the dissolute son, and some of you were interested in the symbolism of the calf, representing Christ, in both salvific and eucharistic terms.

As I said on that day, the generosity shown by the father was not without cost, as represented by the father’s gifts and the celebratory meal, which – for the Church Fathers – was rich in sacramental imagery, showing the Holy Mysteries of the Church to be central to the restoration of the fallen, and the reconciliation of prodigal humanity with God, through the Church, represented by the household of the merciful father, who saw his returning son from far off… which means that he was constantly looking and anticipating that longed-for return.

In the robe brought to clothe his dirty and shabby son, who had fallen to looking after swine and eating pigs’ swill, we see the symbol of baptismal cleansing and the baptismal robe, explored by St Romanos the Melodist in his kontakion sequence “On the Prodigal Son”, originally intended for the second Sunday in Lent, explores this with rich allegorical imagery.

“Quickly, give my child the first robe, / which the baptismal font weaves for all… For I judge it improper to see unprovided or unadorned, the one who has run to me in repentance and has been found worthy of forgiveness, / Clothe him with the robe of grace, as I have commanded, I the Master and Lord of all the ages.”

In the placing of the ring upon his finger (a signet ring with its seal), we see the symbol of anointing with oil of the catechumens in the name of the Trinity, and chrismation –  the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

St Romanos alludes to the seal/sealing, symbolised by the ring, saying that

“It is a pledge of the undivided Trinity, / To guard him since he has recourse to it, so that when he displays his seal it may appear that he is my son, the son of the ruler of all.”

In the killing of the calf, we see the image of sacrifice, centred upon Christ, having given Himself for us on the Cross, continues to give Himself to us in the great banquet of the Divine Liturgy.

In the icon of the Hospitality of Abraham, we also see the calf as a sacrificial and eucharistic image, with its head in the dish at the centre of the altar-like table around which the three angelic visitors sit. The central angel, recognised in Church Tradition as the Angel of Great Counsel – the Pre-Incarnate Saviour, Himself – stretches out to bless the dish: an image of Christ as both the Offering and the One Who offers, as both High Priest and the sacrifice, and in this, St Andrei (Rublev) of Makovetz and other iconographers were drawing upon patristic tradition, in alluding to Christ as the Eucharistic offering.

With allegorical reference to Holy Baptism, in St Romanos’s hymn, the father commands the servants,

“Let us behold a supper marvellously spread / for the former prodigal now becomes temperate. / For his father, or rather the Father of all humankind, / receives him repentant, in His love for humankind, rejoicing at his repentance says to His servants, “Hurry, make ready for us the all-holy supper. / Hurry, above all sacrifice the calf to which a virgin heifer gave birth, because my son was lost before / and has now been found. But let us celebrate; / he was dead and has returned to life, he whom I have taken in my heart, the Master and Lord of all the ages.

O priests, my faithful servants, sacrifice this calf and, to all who are worthy of my supper, give to eat the spotless calf, pure in every way, / fattened from the unsown earth that he fashioned.* / Give them to drink a precious drink, / blood and water that springs from his side for those who believe. / Eat this then, all of you always, / For though it is not divided, not separated, not consumed, but satisfies all unto the ages, / for he offers himself as all-holy food, the Lover of mankind, the Master and Lord of all the ages.”

*(i.e. the Theotokos)

Through the many layers of rich imagery, St Romanos reminds us that our return and reconciliation with the Father is not in abstraction, but within the physical-spiritual household of the Church, which the Saviour has established unto the ages, as His theandric Body in the world.

It is not simply through repentance, but through the Holy Mysteries that the Lord calls us back to His household, to be reclothed in the garment of light with which Adam and Eve were invested, to be sealed in the Name of the Holy Trinity as the heirs of the Kingdom, to receive the Gift of Divine Grace, and to be nourished in the banquet in which the Saviour offers Himself for us, having made clear that like the Old Passover, in the New Passover anticipated and perpetuated in His Mystical Supper, we must be partakers: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”

As prodigal children, the Heavenly Father looks for our return, not simply waiting, but looking for us and seeking us out. Let us hasten, through repentance within the community and household of Faith, knowing that He awaits us, ready with the new robe, the seal that claims us as His, giving us a place at the table of His Divine and Mystic Banquet.

In repentance we cry with St Romanos,

“O Son and Logos of God, Creator of all things, we your unworthy servants ask and implore you, have mercy on all, who call upon you. / As you did the prodigal son who had sinned. / Accept and save through compassion those who in repentance run to you, O King, crying, “We have sinned… Make us partakers of your supper, as you did the prodigal son, you he Master and Lord of all the ages.”

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I very much recommend buying and reading:

Hymns of Repentance: St Romanos the Melodist – SVS Popular Patristics Series

Parish News – Sunday of the Holy Cross and Annunciation

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we celebrate the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, following yesterday’s double celebration of the feast of the Annunciation and the Sunday of the Cross, with a joyful, well-attended, festive Liturgy with parishioners from Llanelli, Swansea and the West of England joining the Cardiff locals.

Thanks to singers, flower-arrangers and cooks, who most certainly rose to the occasion, and thank you to the children who contributed to our homily, and who will hopefully remember the key words of the day, central to the meaning of both the Life-Giving Cross and the Annunciation: obedience, humility and submission.

Unfortunately, Deacon Mark, Alla and Yuriy were unable to be with us, as Yuriy developed a dental abscess and – as most of you know – required surgery under general-anaesthetic yesterday afternoon. He is pretty much back to his normal self, today.

As those at Liturgy realised, without Deacon Mark leading the church set-up, confessions were unavoidably delayed, which was unfortunate on a festive day with many to confess and commune, but it was, after all, the Sunday of the Cross, and if we could not endure such a minor cross on such a blessed day, then there was little point in us coming to church. We should also rejoice that so many people honoured the double-feast by confessing and communing of the Most Pure Mysteries. Congratulations to all who partook of the Holy Mysteries! Let us struggle to preserve their Grace.

Many thanks to Masha, for bringing Holy Water from the well of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the place where the Mother of God received the tidings of the Archangel. The faithful were happy to be able to partake of this after the kissing of the Cross.

It was an added blessing to have Oswald visiting us from Norwich, and his labours, together with those of oltarnik Alexander were greatly appreciated. I hope that Oswald’s presence will become frequent.

Your prayers are asked for the newly departed handmaiden of God, Nina, for whom a litia was chanted after our Liturgy.

I am presently journeying north, looking forward to enjoying a few days with our diocesan chancellor and visiting our Wallasey parish, and will return on Thursday, heading straight to Nazareth House for confessions and the akathist to the Saviour’s Passion, to be chanted at 18:00. Please submit requests by 18:00 on Wednesday. Please let me know if you will be in the confession queue on Sunday before the day itself. Without a second priest, Sundays in Cardiff will require confessions not heard by 10:50 to continue after the Divine Liturgy.

This Saturday – 13th April – sees our second Wessex Liturgy, and I am very pleased to hear that some of our Cardiff locals will be joining us in the Chapel of St Laurence, in the centre of Warminster, to support our Wessex brothers and sisters in these early days of our local mission. We look forward to formally receiving Vladika Irenei’s blessing when we attend Holy Unction on Saturday 20th April. The Hours and Liturgy are at 10:30, and there will be a bring-and-share lunch after the service.

Any remaining parishioners who wish to avail themselves of the mini-bus travelling from Cardiff to the cathedral for this for the mystery of Holy Unction (Soborovanie), at 14:00 on the afternoon of the 20th, should let me know asap, as we wish to confirm numbers and transport arrangements.

As you will have already seen from your email inbox, the services for Holy Week remain rather less than we would ideally like due to the use of St John’s during the week, with various clubs and societies hiring the meeting space next to the kitchen on a long term basis.

The earlier part of the week will see services celebrated in Llanelli before they commence in Cardiff on Holy Thursday.

I repeat the schedule here:

27th April – Lazarus Saturday: TBC

 28th April – Palm Sunday morning: Divine Liturgy, 11:00, St John’s, in St John’s, Canton

 28th April – Palm Sunday evening: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

 29th April – Holy Monday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

 30th April – Holy Tuesday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

1st May – Holy Wednesday: Small Compline, 19:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday morning: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday evening: Service of the Twelve Gospels, 19:00 in St Mary’s Butetown

3rd May – Holy Friday afternoon: Vespers and the bringing out of the winding-sheet, 16:00 in St John’s, Canton

3rd May – Holy Friday evening: Matins of Holy Saturday – Burial service of the Lord, 19:00 in St John’s, Canton

4th May – Holy Saturday: Midnight Office, 23:30, St John’s, Canton – immediately followed by…

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: midnight 00:00 Paschal matins and Divine Liturgy, followed by blessing of Paschal foods and Paschal Breakfast

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: Paschal Vespers, 12:30, St John’s, Canton

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As we enter the second half of the Great Fast, may I remind you of the importance of alms giving and highlight that the foodbank in St John’s is an ideal way for us to support those is need.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Greetings for the Annunciation and the Sunday of the Cross

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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Dear brothers and sisters, today sees the coinciding of the feast of the Annunciation with the Sunday of the Cross at this point of mid-Lent, and in that coincidence we see a great spiritual complement, as the Mystery of the Cross illuminates and explains the significance of the Annunciation and the Virgin’s obedience and agreement to become the Mother of God, and Mother of our Salvation.

In the troparion for the feast, we hear, “Today is the fountainhead of our salvation and the manifestation of the mystery which was from eternity.” But what is this mystery from all eternity?

The answer is simple… it is the mystery of God’s redemptive love, and the response of that Divine Love to the rebellion and fall of Adam and Eve.

  • a redemptive-love that seeks out out the lost and actively looks for those who have gone astray, descending to earth so that by the Cross, it can raise up humanity to heaven: a love in which God descends so that His earthly children may not only be raised from the dead, but ascend to heaven itself.
  • a healing-love that restores humanity and all creation: sick, fallen, broken, dysfunctional and exiled.
  • a sacrificial-love in which Christ-God hides His Divine glory and exhausts Himself for the sake of His fallen children, taking on human nature at the very moment of the Annunciation, so that human nature could be restored and transformed – to be as God originally intended.
  • a self-denying love in which Christ – Love-Incarnate – was beaten, tortured, mocked and killed, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy in which the Christ of Holy Friday is seen in the Man of Sorrows: oppressed, despised, rejected, wounded, bruised and beaten, and brought in silence like a lamb to the slaughter… in endurance and suffering that was the fruit of this selfless, perfect, unlimited love.

This Divine Love, finds its ultimate realisation in the Cross and the Saviour’s Passion, but the incarnate journey of the Only-Begotten Son to the Cross began when the Archangel appeared to the Mother of God, who accepted her necessary part and obedience in the economy of salvation as she submitted to God’s will, saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word…” In plain-speech, I am God’s slave, let what you say come to pass in me. I surrender myself to God. I submit.

In his epistle to the Philippians, St Paul counselled the Christians in Caesarea Philippi, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

In other words… have the mind of Christ through your obedience, humility and submission to God’s Will, with the Cross as the ultimate sign and realisation of this, and do not stop to think of yourself or worry about yourself, but rather give yourself over to the will of the Father.

Though the Cross was decades away from the day on which the youthful Mother of God received the good-news from the Archangel, and even further in time from when St Paul would write those words to the Philippians, her obedience and humble submission to God were already the foundation for the Cruciform redemptive plan of God’s love, as she took on not simply the role of a servant, but of the very Mother of the Saviour: lauded in the akathist-hymn as the “Ladder by which God came down”, and “the Bridge leading from earth to heaven”.

Just as the Only-Begotten Son’s obedience, surrender and submission to His Father’s will is at the very core of the meaning of the Mystery of the Cross, it was already reflected in the Mother of God’s selfless acceptance of the divine plan revealed by the Archangel Gabriel.

This Mystery became an abiding reality in her life at the side of her Son, as was prophetically recognised by St Symeon in the temple, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.”

St Paul wrote to the Church in Rome, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” and in his first letter to the Corinthians (15:21-2), the Apostle states that “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

The first Adam brought about the fall by rebellion and disobedience, but conversely, as the Second-Adam, the Saviour brings about reconciliation and salvation through obedience and submission to the Divine Counsel. As the pinnacle of the saving love of God, the Cross is the sacrificial-means of this redemptive act.

Similarly, we an opposite contrast between the first-mother, Eve, and the Mother of God as the “Second-Eve”.

Before the Fall, Eve, like the Mother of God, Eve was a sinless virgin, but in as much they not only listened to such different messengers, through their contrasting disobedience and obedience towards God, the stark contrast of both action and consequence emerges.

Tertullian (160-240) wrote, “As Eve had believed the serpent, so Mary believed the angel. The delinquency which the one occasioned by believing, the other, by believing, effaced.”  

Mary’s obedience annuls the rebellion of Eve and its fateful consequences, as expressed by St (c. 120/140 – c. 200/203) in his “Against Heresies”:

“Mary, the Virgin, is found obedient, saying, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to your word.’ But Eve was disobedient for she did not obey when as yet she was a virgin.”

“Thus Mary’s obedience undid the knot of Eve’s disobedience; for what the virgin Eve had bound up by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary set free by her faith…”

At the root of this emancipation and freedom is the conforming of human free-will to the will of God as the very foundation of obedience, and by this alignment of the human and Divine Will, the Annunciation becomes the moment of the Incarnation and “the fountainhead of our salvation and the manifestation of the mystery which was from eternity”.

Despite all of those childhood years within the precincts of the Temple, despite the unknown experiences of the infant-Theotokos in the Holy of Holies, Mary’s ‘fiat’, her ‘yes’ to the Archangel, was not a foregone conclusion. She still possessed freedom and free-will, but her selfless-love for God and obedience to Him, led to her acceptance of God’s plan, and led her through the trials and sorrows of her life as Mother of the Saviour, epitomised by seeing her Son bloodied and disfigured upon the Cross.

From the encounter between the Mother of God and the Archangel at the Annunciation to the Crucifixion of her Son, as she stood at the foot of the Cross, her life was one of continuous agreement and alignment with the Divine Will, negating the disobedience of Eve whose rebellion saw her driven away from the Garden of Eden and barred from the Tree of Life.

Like the moon reflecting the rays and light of the sun, so the Mother of God reflects her own Son in her own life, and by emulating her humility, selflessness and obedience, she will truly be our Hodegetria and show us the way.

That way will lead us to the foot of the Cross, which – as the supreme sign of the Saviour’s sacrificial love and obedience to the Father – is our Tree of Life, which in the poetry of the services of the Church we hymn, saying, “…we embrace thee, O desire of all the world. Through thee our tears of sorrow have been wiped away; we have been delivered from the snares of death and have passed over to unending joy.”

As the new Eve, the journey of the Mother of God took her from the Annunciation to to stand at the foot of the Cross, as the new Tree of Life, but beyond that, to hear the good tidings of another angel, who would greet the Myrrh-bearing woman on that first Pascha, with the wondrous words,

“Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” (Luke 24:5-6)

Today, speaking of the Annunciation, we chant those words of the troparion, “Today is the fountainhead of our salvation” but on Pascha, with our hearts and minds at the empty Tomb, reflecting upon the precious Cross, we can then joyfully proclaim the words of St Ephrem: “through faith it is no longer a tree, but the fountain of life eternal; that the Cross is a fountain of Life even as Jesus said: I am the life and the resurrection (Jn 11:25).”

And as we venerate the Cross at this mid-point to Pascha, hearing the Saviour say, “Whosoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24), we must be joyful in the knowledge that the meaning of this Cross – the submission, humility and obedience, seen in the life of the Saviour, also reflected in the life of His Mother will lead us to the joy of the empty Life-Giving Tomb and the angelic words, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen…”

May the mystery of the Cross in our lives, through selfless love, obedience, submission and humility lead us to the fountain of life and the joy of the resurrection.

Amen.

Holy Week 2024

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Dear brothers and sisters, Holy Week is a time of the year when we particularly experience the limitations and feel the frustrations of being tenants under somebody else’s roof, and being unable to have the full complement of services celebrated publicly.

This is nothing new to us, but our return to St John’s, as a building that is much used for various activities, makes a heavy mark on our celebrations. Those using the building during the week do so as part of long-term bookings, with some of those users having held those slots for several years.

 Because the limited availability of the building I will assist Father Luke in Llanelli in the earlier part of the week and the Holy Thursday evening service (the 12 Gospels) will have to be in St Mary Butetown. Unlike the last Holy Week in St John’s, the church will be in use until 18:00 on Saturday, so there is no possibility of celebrating the Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday.

27th April – Lazarus Saturday: TBC

28th April – Palm Sunday morning: Divine Liturgy, 11:00, St John’s, in St John’s, Canton

28th April – Palm Sunday evening: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

29th April – Holy Monday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

30th April – Holy Tuesday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

1st May – Holy Wednesday: Small Compline, 19:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday morning: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday evening: Service of the Twelve Gospels, 19:00 in St Mary’s Butetown

3rd May – Holy Friday afternoon: Vespers and the bringing out of the winding-sheet, 16:00 in St John’s, Canton

3rd May – Holy Friday evening: Matins of Holy Saturday – Burial service of the Lord, 19:00 in St John’s, Canton

4th May – Holy Saturday: Midnight Office, 23:30, St John’s, Canton – immediately followed by…

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: midnight 00:00 Paschal matins and Divine Liturgy, followed by blessing of Paschal foods and Paschal Breakfast

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: Paschal Vespers, 12:30, St John’s, Canton

The Third Week of the Great Fast

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings as we begin the third week of the Great Fast.

With people away on vacation and student holidays, yesterday saw a smaller congregation than usual, though it was a warm Liturgy, aptly described by one of our singers as feeling ‘en famille’, and the warmth of our gathering was reflected in the time for which our worshippers lingered and chatted, amply fed on a day of many Lenten pies. Thank you to all who baked and cooked, feeding our faithful on what turned out to be a rather cold church, with all feeling the physical chill: clergy included.

The week began with our end of month service and supper in Wiltshire, and we are grateful to Porphyrios for welcoming us, once again, to his narrow-boat on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and to our sisters who provided Lenten -fare for our gathering and for clergy-hospitality. We are now looking forward to our next Wessex Liturgy in the Chapel of St Laurence, in Warminster, on Saturday 13 April.

Last week saw Nazareth House out of use, so confessions were heard in the Oratory Church, with the akathist to the Divine Passion chanted  between them. We are very grateful to the Oratorian Fathers for their continued kindness and hospitality. Their unwished-for departure from the chaplaincy did nothing to lessen the great friendship that was established between our communities, and they continue to take an interest in parish life and news, and support us through their great hospitality.

This week will see our return to Nazareth House for confessions on Thursday, and the akathist will again be chanted, but at 18:00, after confessions. Those requiring confession are asked to email me by 18:00 on Wednesday.

The akathist to the Lord’s Passion has been published on our blog, and can be found in the first volume of the excellent akathist books printed by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, and available from on-line book sellers. These are an excellent resource, and are a worth while resource: Volume 1: ISBN 9780884650591 and Volume 2: ISBN 9780884651413.

Our parishioners continue to read the Psalter in its entirety each day during this fast, and those interested interested in acquiring a Psalter with the traditional troparia and prayers at the end of the kathismas are encouraged to purchase one from White Horse Wares…

https://whitehorsewares.co.uk/product/a-psalter-for-prayer-pocket-edition/

… who also stock the translated writings of St Pasisios the Hagiorite, as well as excellent candles suitable for use in your icon-corner. If you have never visited their website, please do!

Sunday was Anastasia’s last, and having completed her musical studies in the Royal College she will spend some time in Greece before returning to university in the States. It has been a great privilege and blessing having her as part of the parish. We thank her for her contribution to parish life and wish her a safe journey and a good celebration of the Lord’s Pascha… Καλό ταξίδι αγαπητή Αναστασία, και καλή Ανάσταση!

Looking forward to Holy Unction / Soborovanie in the cathedral on Saturday 20 April, I am glad to say that we are getting close to having enough attending parishioners to hire a minibus. If you wish to attend, please let Tracy know, but only if you are able to commit, as we do not want to see people dropping out last minute and finding that resources have been wasted.

Next Sunday sees the coincidence of the feast of the Annunciation and the Sunday of the Cross, with the Liturgy celebrating both celebrations, and the Cross venerated at the centre of the church. This is one of the two fish days of the Great Fast, so fish is welcome in trapeza after the service.

The variables for the Liturgy are to be found on the usual website, at… https://drive.google.com/file/d/14OBNB740tC2bT_Th92b4YDvWQj8PUfdC/view

Wishing you a continued prayerful and penitential struggle, as we approach the midpoint on the Fast.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

The Triumph of Orthodoxy in Our Lives

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Dear brothers and sisters, last Sunday, it was a great joy – as always – to celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the Restoration of the Holy Icons, but even more so this year with the chanting of the Synodikon and the procession at the end of our long succession of services.

Looking and seeing Kyril and Yury holding the menaion icon of the liturgical year and the synaxis of the saints of the Kiev Caves for everyone to kiss was a source of joy, as was James’s keenness in pointing out that he was carrying the icon of the Holy Face of the Saviour given to him for his nameday.

As we reminded our children, they are the Church’s tomorrow, and I hope they will remember occasions such as Sunday, and the many details that can only be memories because of the thoroughness with which Sacred Tradition is observed and celebrated.

When I first came to Orthodoxy through a parish not in ROCOR, my experience lacked the maximalism, energy, enthusiasm and great joy that resonated in last weekend’s celebrations: rather a shadow of our Church life, in a warm but intellectualised and theologically limp parish that was more interested in ecumenism and the arts than zealous defence of Orthodox Tradition, and though it had wonderful and generous people, it had as much spiritual zeal as a wilted lettuce.

In contrast to our understanding of the inheritance of Faith, others had suppressed the things that THEY were uncomfortable with. If it was to be compared to a box of chocolates, others had removed the centres they didn’t like, but had been quick to cover the gaps in the tray by introducing confectionary of their own making: ecumenist, renovationsist, intellectual and liberal, with very soft centres (filled with additives, artificial colours and synthetic flavouring) that were pleasing to THEIR palette, and which THEY believed everyone else had to like and, indeed, swallow! These introductions reflected individual human whims and enthusiasms,  and NOT the consciousness of Christ’s Church.

Not once can I (with a very obsessive memory) remember celebrating the Triumph of Orthodoxy in any detail, and I cannot even recall discussion of the Church Fathers, of the Ecumenical Councils, of the Holy Mountain, of monasticism, even of ascetical life.

It’s astounding and highly disturbing to recall this, and I now realise that one young man probably returned to Anglo-Catholicism because these topics were more discussed and considered in certain High Church Anglican circles than in that local Orthodox parish.

This was certainly not the fulness of Faith or the fulness of Orthodoxy, and I thank God that this became apparent even to a rather idealistic neophyte, and when I returned home from the South Coast, I was greatly blessed to encounter Igumen Seraphim of our former Birmingham parish and our deeply devout, ascetical and prayerful starosta, Vera Vasilievna Mokarova, who showed me the fulness and beauty of traditional Russian Orthodoxy – built on the legacy of Bishop Constantine, fed by the Optina elders, startsy and righteous ones of Holy Russia, imbued with the breath of the Holy Mountain, and heavily influenced by the life and labours of St John the Wonderworker, Blessed Father Seraphim (Rose) of Platina and the St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

The portraits and photographs on the walls of the staircase and trapeza attested to the spiritual legacy inherited from successive generations.

I am so grateful that years later, despite my original stubborn odyssey as a refusenik when ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate united, the Lord’s mercy led me to the reconciliation that brought me, through our late Metropolitan Hilarion, to be the rector of the Cardiff parish and mission-priest to our Gloucestershire mission (and now to our Wessex mission), and to be able to serve the wonderful people of our widely scattered community, with their thirst for a maximal and full Orthodox Faith and life summed up by last Sunday’s celebrations.

Sunday, saw us stand together to not only celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy, but to celebrate and remember our own history and spiritual legacy as a local part of the Russian Orthodox Church born in the pain and poverty of dislocation, exile and displacement, struggling for holiness and the preservation of Faith and Holy Orthodoxy, despite the hardships and demands of simple survival.

As our deacons remembered the departed during our moleben, what precious names were heard: our departed First Hierarchs, including the great Abba of the Church in Exile, Metropolitan Antoniy of Kiev and Galych, Metropolitan Philaret, whose relics remain incorrupt, and our greatly missed Metropolitan Hilarion; also Vladyka Irenei’s predecessors in this God-preserved diocese – St John the Wonderworker and Bishop Constantine.

What great names were also heard in other dioceses of our Church Abroad: Archbishop Averky of Jordanville, Archbishop Andrei of Novodiveevo, Archbishop Nektary of Seattle: spiritual giants of our Orthodox Christian Faith.

We heard the names of great champions of Holy Orthodoxy, from an age when our small, poor, unconnected and seemingly unimportant Russian Orthodox Church Abroad produced saints, in men and women of great asceticism, holiness and unsullied Faith – and at a time when the patriarchates of world Orthodoxy were producing bureaucrats, ethnarchs and apparatchiks advancing the geo-political interests and foreign policies of world governments.

When we hear the commemorations of the departed, I know that alongside the names in the petitions, many of us will be remembering the formative influences in our lives: the people from whom we have inherited the precious Deposit of Faith.

We hear the names of great stalwarts of the diocese in each proskomedia and Liturgy: Archbishop Nikodem and Bishops Nicholas and Constatine; the Archpriests Yevgeny, Mikhail and Georgy; Archimandrite Nikanor; the Abbesses Elizabeth and Seraphima… and others from whom we have received the fulness of Holy Orthodoxy.

We make a poklon to their memory and pray “Memory Eternal… Vechnaya pamyat!”

And just as we then prayed for many years for the living, and return to today, my heart rejoices as we consider not only today, but also tomorrow, with our young people approaching Orthodoxy already fed and fired by the very spiritual food, and inspired by the very elders, holy men and women that I encountered in my discovery of real Orthodoxy, and even by some of the great ones who were remembered in our prayers.

To have young people and those young in Orthodoxy (if not in years) imbued with the sacred legacy of Faith transmitted by St John the Wonderworker, Father Seraphim Rose, the Optina Elders. St Theophan the Recluse, Archbishop Averky, St Nikolai Velimirović, the elders of Mount Athos, and the great Romanian elders is music to the soul.

To know that ordinary people – neither scholars nor intellectuals – are imbued with the lives and writings of Church Fathers and great elders and eldresses, rather than modernist, intellectual and renovationist “theology” is a relief and comfort!

To have the Psalter read in its entirety everyday in Lent through the organisation of the parish brothers and sisters (largely young) themselves is exemplary and inspiring.

To have parishioners who wish to be part of services that are long because they are celebrated according to the fulness of our ROCOR liturgical tradition is a great blessing, and to have spiritual children who are fervent and serious about confession and the mystery of repentance is a joy.

We are very far from perfect as a community, and we still have a great list of things that need resolving and issues in which we seem to make little progress. But, whilst we are aware of our sins, shortcomings and faults, we are a family of believers who accept Orthodoxy as it is meant to be, whether we like all of the rules, canons and expectations or not.

We endeavour, and sometimes struggle to fulfil and live our Faith in obedience, even if that is occasionally an uncomfortable and hard obedience.

Others have thought themselves entitled to move the goalposts, and they themselves will have to answer for their actions.

We can only pray for them with mercy and compassion, and remind ourselves that there is nothing particularly laudable or praiseworthy in our tenacious preservation of Sacred Tradition.

Not only are we not heroes, but simply basic Christians for fulfilling the Saviour’s commandments to love and serve our neighbour (as preached a few weeks ago), but we are also not some sort of uber-Orthodox Christians for being strict in preserving the Sacred Traditions and praxis of Faith. We are simply being Orthodox – in what you know I see as “plain vanilla Orthodoxy”.

We are only fulfilling our duty as Orthodox Christians – preserving the fulness of Faith in dogma and action, as the inheritance of the children who carried their icons in Sunday’s procession.

As our deacons powerfully proclaimed,

“This is the Apostolic Faith!

 This is the Faith of the Fathers!

 This is the Orthodox Faith!

 This Faith confirmeth the universe!”

And… the confirmation of this Faith is not in editing, adapting, doctoring, modernising and reinventing – rather it is in FAITHFULNESS to Sacred Tradition, by obedience, in submission and with humility.

May this humility lead us into that obedience through submission, putting aside our likes, enthusiasms and personal opinions to embrace the mind of the Church; to speak with the voice of the Church; to act in unison as the Church.

This may not always be easy. Indeed, it may sometimes be a difficult struggle, but in body, soul and spirit, in heart and mind, in word and deed and thought, this is the way of Faith: the ORTHODOX Faith.

Let us all beware of counterfeit Byzantine ‘flavoured’ imitations of Orthodoxy. Fakes are not always obvious, and not everything that says Orthodox on the label IS Orthodox.

We would never knowingly walk through a mine-field, or drink from a poisoned well, and so we must equally stay away from counterfeit or pick-and-mix “Orthodoxy”, but rather be demanding, maximalist and stubborn: guarding and preserving our Faith, and sharing it as a precious treasure and the pearl of great price.

Be steadfast and rejoice in our Faith!

“Вера наша, вера славна, вера наша ПРАВОСЛАВНА!”

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

“O Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries. And by virtue of Thy Cross, preserve Thy habitation.”

The Canon to St Winefride

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Several of our parish sisters are making a pilgrimage to Holywell next week, and as I was sorting the canon to St Winefride, it seemed a good idea to publish it here for general circulation.

Ode I, Irmos: The people of Israel, / having fled across the watery deep of the Red Sea with dryshod feet, / beholding the mounted captains of the enemy drowned therein, / sang with gladness: / Let us chant unto our God, / for He hath been glorified!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

With the waters of Winifred’s holy well are we cured of maladies of body and soul, for the Lord drew forth a wondrous spring where fell her severed head. Therefore, let us chant unto our God, for He hath been glorified! 

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Ineffable was the revival of the holy Winifred at the entreaties of the venerable Beuno; for, affixing her severed head to her lifeless body, the saint restored her to life. Wherefore, let us sing unto our God, for He hath been glorified!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Now let us praise Christ; for, honouring the holy maiden, He filleth her spring with an upwelling of grace, that those who immerse themselves in its watery depths may find ease for their pain and sorrows, for He is all-glorious.

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Theotokion: In majesty doth thy Son reign over all, O most immaculate Virgin, and everlastingly doth He hearken with pity to thy maternal supplications, which thou dost unceasingly offer up before His throne, entreating Him on our behalf.

Ode III, Irmos: The people of Israel drank from the hard and rough-hewn stone ,/ which poured forth water at Thy command;/ and Thou, O Christ, / art the Rock and Life /whereon the Church is established, which crieth: //Hosanna! Blessed art Thou Who comest!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Flourishing in the soil of Wales like a tree of comely form, laden with fruit of the virtues, O Winifred; and, watered abundantly by the pure doctrine of thy kinsman, the venerable Beuno, thou didst reserve thy precious virginity for Christ alone.

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Rushing forth in great volume, the springs of thy holy well emerge from the rock of Wales and flow down to the sea, O virgin martyr, irrigating thy native land and watering with divine grace the souls of those who cry to Christ: Hosanna!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Ever did her noble parents, Terith and Wenlo, see the saint as a precious gem, sparkling with the grace of God, flawless in purity; wherefore, they entrusted her to the holy Beuno, who taught her to cry to Christ: Blessed art Thou Who comest!

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Theotokion: Daily do we offer our entreaties to thee whom thy Son hath given to us, His servants, as a mediator and advocate before Him; and with thankful voices we cry out to thee: Blessed art thou among women! Hosanna to the Fruit of thy womb!

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Sessional hymn, Tone III, Spec. Mel. Of the divine Faith: Adorned with zeal for the Faith, with piety, reverence and virginity, O Winifred, / as a bride of Christ thou didst prefer to die rather than to submit to the accursed Caradoc; / wherefore, glorified by God, thou ever prayest earnestly unto Him, / that He deliver us, His servants, from the disgrace of the passions.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Theotokion, in Tone III: Thou wast the divine tabernacle of the Word, O only all-pure Virgin Mother, / who hast surpassed the angels in purity. / With the divine waters of thy supplications, O pure one, / cleanse me who, more than all others, / have become defiled by carnal transgressions, and grant unto me great mercy. 

Stavrotheotokion, Tone III (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesday and Friday): The unblemished ewe-lamb of the Word, the undefiled Virgin Mother, / beholding Him Who sprang forth from her without pain suspended upon the Cross, / cried out, lamenting maternally: / ‘Woe is me, O my Child! / How is it that Thou sufferest willingly, desiring to deliver man from the dishonour of the passions?’

Ode IV, Irmos: Thy virtue hath covered the heavens, / and the earth hath been filled with Thy glory, O Christ. / Wherefore, we cry out with faith:/ Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

In the Christian virtues wast thou tutored and trained by thine uncle, the holy Beuno, O Winifred; wherefore, thou didst cry out with him: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Slain wast thou, O venerable one, when thou didst flee him who sought to outrage thy pure virginity, O venerable martyr; but he was destroyed by the power of the Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Arrogant and lustful, the accursed nobleman pursued the holy one and slew her at the doors of the church; but the earth swallowed him alive by the power of the Lord.

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

What words suffice to hymn thy wondrous works, O all-hymned Theotokos? Wherefore, we cry out with faith and love to thy Son and God: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Ode V, Irmos: Shine forth upon me the light of Thy precepts, O Lord, / for my spirit riseth early unto Thee and hymneth Thee: / for Thou art our God, / and I flee to Thee, O King of peace.

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Emitting the effulgence of the splendid precepts of the Lord, O martyred maiden, when wickedly pursued by the evildoer thou didst flee with haste to the King of peace.

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Lord of hosts, King of peace, have mercy upon me, and deliver me from him who intendeth my ruination and spiritual destruction! the holy Winifred earnestly prayed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Let the sword of the impious Caradoc free me from this vain world and its vile illusions, for I prefer the King of peace above all else! the holy maiden cried aloud.

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Slain for piety’s sake, the holy Winifred joined the Theotokos at the right hand of her Son; but in His mysterious dispensation, the King of peace restored her to bodily life.

Ode VI, Irmos: Let not the watery tempest drown me, nor the abyss destroy me; / for I have been cast into the depths of the heart of the sea. / Wherefore, like Jonah I cry aloud: /Let my life ascend to Thee out of the corruption of evils, O God!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Pouring forth thy martyr’s blood, O saint of God, thou didst dye in its streams a crimson robe, as vesture fit for the bridal banquet; and joining the wise virgins, thou didst enter, rejoicing, into the chamber of thy Lord, O Winifred.

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Resurrected from the dead when Beuno prayed to God and joined again thy severed head to thy virginal body, O pure maiden, thy remaining life didst thou dedicate to thy Master, in every way avoiding the corruption of evils.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

In the doctrines of piety did the venerable Eleri undertake to tutor thee, O holy one, that having been rescued from the abyss of hades thou mightest ever cry: Let my life ascend to Thee out of the corruption of evils, O God!

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Never shall we cease to extol thy manifold wonders, O compassionate Lady, nor shall we ever tire of magnifying thy mighty deeds, for thou dost ever rescue us from the depths of the sea of evils wherein we are drowning.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Kontakion, in Tone IV, Spec. Mel. Thou hast appeared: Thou hast appeared today, O Winifred, / pouring forth grace divine through the water of thy well upon all who partake of it with faith / and who, trusting in thy boldness before God, / immerse themselves therein with goodly hope.

Ikos: Grace divine poureth forth in torrents from Holywell, for there did the holy Winifred shed her blood for Christ, and as a sign of His good pleasure with her great sacrifice, He caused a spring to arise where her severed head fell to the ground. Wherefore, O ye Christians, let us draw forth its waters as a great blessing from God; and, ever mindful of the words of the Saviour, that whosoever shall give drink unto his neighbour a cup of cold water shall in nowise lose his reward, let us immerse ourselves in these wondrous waters with goodly hope.

Ode VII, Irmos: Of old in Babylon, the Angel, / descending into the Chaldean furnace, / bedewed the children; / wherefore, they sang: / Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Gwitherin boasteth in thee exceedingly, O saint of God, for in its convent thou didst live a life of piety, singing unceasingly: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Obediently didst thou shoulder the monastic yoke, O venerable one, submitting to the blessed Abbess Tenoi, singing: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Fittingly didst thou succeed the holy Tenoi, O Winifred, and in Gwitherin didst stay until thine own repose, singing: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Gazing down upon us from on high, O sovereign Lady, let thy pity fall upon us like rain, that we may cry unto thy Son: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Ode VIII, Irmos: O Almighty Deliverer of all, / descending into the midst of the flame Thou didst bedew the pious youths and didst teach them to sing: / Bless and hymn the Lord, all ye works!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

O strange mystery! She who was slain by the sword, her head cut from her body, is restored to life, and liveth on for many years, crying: Bless and hymn the Lord, all ye works!

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Death had no dominion over thee, O glorious Winifred, for as thy well gusheth forth miraculous cures continually, so did thy grave become a wellspring of healing for the afflicted.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Shrewsbury was adorned with thy sacred relics, O wondrous Winifred, for they were translated thither with great solemnity, as our blessed and all-hymned Lord allowed.

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Glory adorneth thee, O Theotokos, and as a Queen thou art arrayed in spiritual raiment, inwrought with gold and varied colours, and thou dost teach us to cry: Bless and hymn the Lord, all ye works!

Ode IX, Irmos: With hymns we all magnify the Theotokos, / the Chaldæan furnace which of old bore a dew-laden fire, /and the bush on Sinai / which burned without being consumed.

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

Resembling in grace the heavenly dew which quenched the Chaldæan flames, the waters of the holy Winifred¹s well quench the burning of fevers and the fires of the passions.

Venerable-Martyr Winefride pray to God for us!

As God sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust without distinction, so hath He made the waters of His saint’s well to pour forth healings upon all who partake of them.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Come, O ye Christians, and let us praise our Most High God, for in His love for mankind He hath given us Winifred, His favoured one, as an intercessor and advocate before Him.

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Even our most eloquent hymns and orations, adorned with every ornament of human speech, fail utterly to describe the magnitude of thy goodness, O Mother of God.

Troparion of St Winefride, Tone 2: Suffering death for thy virginity, O Holy Winefride,/ through the mercy of God thy body was made whole and restored to life. /Thy healing grace flows in streams of living water./ Pray to God for us that our souls may be saved!

Prayer to St Winefride: O Ye Christians, let us lift up our voices in praise of God for the mighty miracles He hath wrought for us through the pure waters of Holywell and the entreaties of His saint! O blessed Winefride, pure virgin and glorious martyr, so especially chosen, so divinely graced and so wonderfully restored from death to life! Hope of all that fly unto thee with full confidence and humility! As of old the desert rock gushed forth water for thirsting Israel when the staff of Moses smote it, so did the rocky ground of Wales put forth a torrent of grace-filled water when, falling, thy severed head struck it. The one quenched the bodily thirst of the children of God; while the other healeth the manifold infirmities of their souls and bodies. We, though, unworthy, yet thy devoted pilgrims, make our petitions unto thee. Sanctuary of piety, look now upon us with patient eyes; receive our prayers, accept our offerings, and present our supplications at the throne of mercy, that through thy powerful intercessions, our God may be pleased to bless our pilgrimage, and to grant our requests and our desires that are unto salvation; for unto Him is due all honour and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

The Akathist Hymn to the Passion of Christ

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The Holy New-Martyr, St Basil, Bishop of Kineshma loved to celebrate weekly services in honour of the Saviour’s Passion on Thursday evenings, and inspired by this, the Akathist to the Passion of Christ will be chanted each Thursday during Lent.

This week we will do so at the early time of 15:00, in the Oratory Church, but on returning to Nazareth House the following week, we will do so at 18:00, after confessions.

Kontakion 1: Supreme Ruler and Lord of Heaven and earth, seeing Thee, the Immortal King, hanging on the Cross, all creation was changed, Heaven was horrified, and the foundations of the earth were shaken. But we, unworthy as we are, offer Thee thankful adoration for Thy Passion in our behalf, and with the robber we cry to Thee: Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Eikos 1: In completing the choirs of angels, Thou didst not take on the angelic nature, but being the Eternal God, for my sake Thou becamest man, and Thou didst restore to life men who were dead through sin with Thy Life-Giving Body and Blood. Therefore, in gratitude for Thine amazing love, we humbly cry to Thee:

Jesus, God, Eternal Love, Who was pleased to save us who are born of earth!

Jesus, Infinite Mercy, Who didst come down here to us fallen creatures!

Jesus, Who was clothed in our flesh and didst destroy the dominion of death by Thy death!

Jesus, Who dost deify us with Thy Divine Mysteries!

Jesus, Who hast redeemed the whole world by Thy Cross and Passion!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 2: Seeing Thee in the Garden of Gethsemane struggling in prayer till Thou didst sweat blood, an angel appeared and strengthened Thee when our sins weighed upon Thee like a heavy burden. For, having taken lost Adam on Thy shoulders, Thou didst bring him to the Father by bending Thy knees and praying. For this I sing to Thee with faith and love: Alleluia!

Eikos 2: The Jews did not know the incredible truth of Thy voluntary Passion. Therefore, when Thou didst say to those who were seeking Thee at night with lanterns: I AM HE, even though they fell to the ground, yet afterwards they bound Thee and led Thee to the judgment hall. But we fall down before Thee on the Way of the Cross and cry with love:

Jesus, Light of the world, hated by evil and worldly people!

Jesus, Who dwellest in unapproachable Light, seized by the realms of darkness!

Jesus, Immortal Son of God, condemned to death by a son of perdition!

Jesus, in Whom there is nothing false, falsely kissed by the traitor!

Jesus, Who givest Thyself freely to all, sold for a sum of silver!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 3: By the power of Thy divinity Thou didst foretell to Thy disciple his threefold denial. But even though after this he denied Thee with an oath, yet when he saw Thee, His Lord and Master, in the high priest’s court his heart was touched, and he went out and wept bitterly. Look, then, also upon me, O Lord, and strike my hard heart, that with my tears I may wash away my sins and sing to Thee: Alleluia!

Eikos 3: Having true power as High Priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek, Thou didst stand before the criminal high priest Caiaphas. O Lord and Master of all, Who didst accept torture from Thy slaves, accept from us these prayers and praises:

Jesus, Priceless One Who was bought for a price, adopt me into Thine eternal inheritance!

Jesus, desire of all nations, denied from fear by Peter, reject me not a sinner!

Jesus, Innocent Lamb, torn by cruel scourges, rescue me from mine enemies!

Jesus, High Priest, Who hast entered the Holy of Holies with Thy Blood, cleanse me from fleshly impurity!

Jesus bound, Who hast power to bind and to loose, absolve my grievous sins!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 4: Breathing a storm of murderous thoughts, the Jews having listened to the voice of the father of lies and man-slayer from time immemorial, the devil, rejected Thee, the right Way, the Truth, and the Life. But we confess Thee to be Christ, the power of God, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and we cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 4: Having heard Thy meek and gentle words, Pilate delivered Thee up to be crucified as deserving death, even though he himself bore witness that he had found not a single fault in Thee. Then he washed his hands, but defiled his heart. And wondering at the mystery of Thy voluntary Passion, with compunction we cry to Thee:

Jesus, Son of God and Son of the Virgin, tortured by the sons of iniquity!

Jesus, mocked and stripped, Who givest the flowers of the field their beauty and deckest the sky with clouds!

Jesus, covered with wounds, Who satisfied the hunger of five thousand men with five loaves of bread!

Jesus, King of all, who instead of a tribute of love and gratitude receivest cruel tortures!

Jesus, Who art wounded all the day long for our sake, heal the wounds of our souls!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 5: Thou wast all arrayed in Thy divine blood, O Thou Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment. I know, indeed I know with the Prophet why Thy garments are purple. I, Lord, it is I who wounded Thee with my sins. So to thee Who was wounded for my sake I thankfully cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 5: Foreseeing Thee in spirit covered with shame and wounds, the divinely inspired Isaiah cried in horror: We have seen Him, and He had no form or beauty. And we, seeing thee on the Cross, with faith and amazement cry:

Jesus, enduring dishonour, Who hast crowned man with glory and honour!

Jesus, on Whom angels cannot gaze, slapped in the face!

Jesus, Who was struck on the head with a reed, bow my head in humility!

Jesus, Whose bright eyes were darkened with blood, turn away my eyes from beholding vanity!

Jesus, Who from head to feet hadst not part whole, make me perfectly whole and healthy!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 6: Pilate proved a preacher of Thine innocence, when he told the people that he found nothing in Thee deserving death. But the Jews, like wild beasts that have seen blood, gnashed their teeth at Thee and cried: Crucify, crucify Him! We, however, kiss Thy most pure wounds and cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 6: Thou wast a spectacle and marvel to men and angels, and to Pilate who said of Thee: Behold the Man! Come, then, let us worship Jesus Who suffered abuse for our sake, as we cry:

Jesus, Creator and Judge of all, judged and tortured by Thy creatures!

Jesus, Giver of Wisdom, Who gavest no answer to foolish questions!

Jesus, Healer of those wounded by sin, grant me the healing of repentance!

Jesus, Shepherd Who was struck, strike the demons that cause me temptation!

Jesus, crushed in body, crush my heart with Thy fear!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 7: Wishing to deliver mankind from slavery to the enemy, Thou didst humble Thyself before Thine enemies, O Jesus, and like a lamb that is dumb Thou wast led to the slaughter, and didst endure wounds all over, that having healed the whole man, he might cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 7: Wonderful patience didst Thou show when, after the sentence of the unjust judge, the soldiers reviled Thee and inflicted cruel wounds on Thy Most-pure Body, so that it was purple with blood from head to foot. Therefore with tears we cry to Thee:

Jesus, Lover of mankind, crowned with thorns by mankind!

Jesus, impassible in Thy Divinity, enduring thy Passion to free us from our passions!

Jesus, my Saviour, save me who deserve all sufferings!

Jesus, forsaken by all, my Strength, strengthen me!

Jesus, my Joy, from all insults gladden me!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 8: Strange and wonderful it was when Moses and Elijah appeared to Thee on Tabor and spoke of Thy death which Thou wast about to accomplish in Jerusalem, that having beheld Thy glory there and seen our salvation here, they might cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 8: Everywhere persecuted by the Jews on account of the great multitude of my sins, Thou didst endure my shame and torment. For some say that Thou art opposed to Caesar, others accuse Thee of being a criminal while some cry: Take Him, take Him, and crucify Him. So to Thee, our Lord, condemned by all and led to crucifixion, from the depth of our souls we say:

Jesus, unjustly condemned, our Judge, condemn us not according to our deeds!

Jesus, Who was exhausted on the way under Thy Cross, my Power, forsake me not in the hour of my sorrow and suffering!

Jesus, Who didst cry for help to the Father, mine Exemplar, strengthen me in my weakness!

Jesus, Who didst accept dishonour, my Glory, deprive me not of Thy glory!

Jesus, radiant image of the Father’s Being, transfigure my dark and impure life!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 9: All nature was confounded at the sight of Thee hanging on the Cross: in the heavens the sun hid his rays, the earth quaked, the veil of the Temple was torn, the rocks split, and hell gave up her dead. But we worship on the place where Thy most pure feet stood, crying: Alleluia!

Eikos 9: Eloquent orators, even if they speak much, cannot render sufficient gratitude for Thy Divine Passion, O Lover of mankind. But our souls and bodies, our hearts and all our members with compunction cry to Thee:

Jesus, Who was nailed to the Cross, nail down and annul the handwriting of our sins!

Jesus, Who stretchest out Thy hands from the Cross to all, draw me to Thyself, for I too have gone astray!

Jesus, Door of the sheep, pierced in Thy side, lead me through Thy wounds into Thy bridal chamber!

Jesus, crucified in the flesh, crucify my flesh with its passions and desires!

Jesus, Who didst end Thy life in agony, grant that my heart may know nothing but Thee crucified!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 10: Desiring to save the world, Thou didst heal the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf and the dumb, and didst drive out evil spirits. But the foolish Jews, breathing envy and malice, nailed Thee to the Cross, not knowing how to sing: Alleluia!

Eikos 10: Jesus Eternal King, Thou sufferest in every limb for my intemperance and incontinence, that Thou mightest make the whole of me pure, giving us a pattern in everything that we might follow in Thy steps and cry:

Jesus, unfathomable Love, Who didst not charge with sin those who crucified Thee!

Jesus, Who didst pray earnestly with crying and tears in the garden, teach us also to pray!

Jesus, Who hast fulfilled all prophecy in Thyself, fulfil our heart’s desire for goodness!

Jesus, Who didst surrender Thy spirit into thy Father’s hands, in the hour of my death receive my spirit!

Jesus, Who didst not prevent the division of Thy garments, separate my soul from my body gently!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 11: Tenderest songs did Thine immaculate Mother offer to Thee, saying: Even though Thou sufferest on the Cross, yet I know Thee from the womb to be begotten of the Father before the morning star, for I see that all creation is suffering with Thee. Thou surrenderest Thy spirit to the Father. Receive also my spirit and forsake me not as I cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 11: Like a light-receiving lamp the immaculate Virgin stood at Thy Cross burning with love and torn with a mother’s sorrow for Thee, the true Sun of Righteousness that was setting in the grave, and with Her accept these prayers of our heart:

Jesus, Who was lifted up on the Tree that with Thyself Thou mightest lift us fallen creatures to Thy Father!

Jesus, Who didst give the Ever-Virgin as a mother to the virgin Apostle that Thou mightest teach us purity and virginity!

Jesus, Who didst entrust Thy Mother to Thy disciple, the Theologian, commit us all to Her maternal protection!

Jesus, Conqueror of the world and hell, conquer the unbelief, the pride of life, and the lust of the eyes that lurks within us!

Jesus, Destroyer of the power of death, deliver me from eternal death!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 12: Grant me Thy Grace, O Jesus my God. Receive me as Thou didst receive Joseph and Nicodemus, that I may offer to Thee my soul like a clean shroud, may anoint Thy most pure body with the fragrant spices of virtue, and may have Thee in my heart as in a tomb, as I cry: Alleluia!

Eikos 12: Praising Thy voluntary Crucifixion, we worship Thy Passion, O Christ. We believe with the centurion that Thou art truly the Son of God Who art coming on the clouds with power and great glory. Put us not then to shame, who are redeemed by Thy blood, and thus cry aloud:

Jesus, long-suffering, by the lamentation of Thy Virgin Mother rescue us from eternal weeping!

Jesus, forsaken by all, forsake me not in the hour of my death!

Jesus, with Mary Magdalene who touched Thy feet, receive me!

Jesus, condemn me not with the traitor and those who crucified Thee!

Jesus, bring me with the good thief into Paradise!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Kontakion 13 (thrice): O Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, accept this small act of thanksgiving offered to Thee with all our soul, and heal us by Thy saving Passion from all sickness of soul and body. Protect us by Thy Cross from enemies visible and invisible, and forsake us not at the end of our life, that saved by Thy death from eternal death, we may unceasingly cry to Thee: Alleluia!

Kontakion 1: Supreme Ruler and Lord of Heaven and earth, seeing Thee, the Immortal King, hanging on the Cross, all creation was changed, Heaven was horrified, and the foundations of the earth were shaken. But we, unworthy as we are, offer Thee thankful adoration for Thy Passion in our behalf, and with the robber we cry to Thee: Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Eikos 1: In completing the choirs of angels, Thou didst not take on the angelic nature, but being the Eternal God, for my sake Thou becamest man, and Thou didst restore to life men who were dead through sin with Thy Life-Giving Body and Blood. Therefore, in gratitude for Thine amazing love, we humbly cry to Thee:

Jesus, God, Eternal Love, Who was pleased to save us who are born of earth!

Jesus, Infinite Mercy, Who didst come down here to us fallen creatures!

Jesus, Who was clothed in our flesh and didst destroy the dominion of death by Thy death!

Jesus, Who dost deify us with Thy Divine Mysteries!

Jesus, Who hast redeemed the whole world by Thy Cross and Passion!

Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!

Prayer to the Lord Jesus Crucified

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Creator of Heaven and earth, Saviour of the world, behold I who am unworthy and of all men most sinful, humbly bow the knee of   my heart before the glory of Thy majesty and praise Thy Cross and Passion, and offer thanksgiving to Thee, the King and God of all, that Thou wast pleased to bear as man all labours and hardships, all temptations and tortures, that Thou mightest be our Fellow-sufferer and Helper, and a Saviour to all of us in all our sorrows, needs, and sufferings. I know, O all-powerful Lord, that all these things were not necessary for Thee, but for us men and for our salvation Thou didst endure Thy Cross and Passion that Thou mightest redeem us from all cruel bondage to the enemy. What, then, shall I give in return to Thee, O Lover of mankind, for all that Thou hast suffered for me, a sinner? I cannot say, for soul and body and all blessings come from Thee, and all that I have is Thine, and I am Thine. Yet I know that love is repaid only by love. Teach me, then, to love and praise Thee. Trusting solely in Thine infinite compassion and mercy, O Lord, I praise Thine unspeakable patience, I magnify Thine unutterable exhaustion, I glorify Thy boundless mercy, I adore Thy purest Passion, and most lovingly kissing Thy wounds, I cry: Have mercy on me a sinner, and cause that Thy holy Cross may not be fruitless in me, that I may participate here with faith in Thy sufferings and be vouchsafed to behold also the glory of Thy Kingdom in Heaven. Amen.